Whitby Jet, from Whitby, North Yorkshire, Uk (No.14)

Jet is a black or dark brown variety of coal called lignite. It is a combination of carbon plus hydrocarbon compounds. The name is believed to be derived from the name of the town and river Gagas in ancient Turkey, where it or a similar material was found.

Jet was formed by the lithification of submerged driftwood in sea-floor mud.

The northeast coast of England has long been the best source of the worlds finest Jet, but it can also be found in the United States, Poland, France, Germany, Spain, India and Russia.

Jet has the property, like Amber, of becoming electrically charged when rubbed with wool or silk.

Jet jewellery was being produced in Britain as long ago as 1500 B.C., and the ancient Romans imported Jet jewellery made in York. Jet carvings were used as talismans and for mourning in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Spain.

Native Americans from Alaska to South America used Jet as decoration in pre-Columbian times. In Victorian England, Jet was widely used in mourning jewellery, rosaries, crosses and carvings.

Jet is said to purify and protect. It is considered to be able to absorb negativity and process it into clear, usable energy.

Jet is said to be particularly good protection against the misuse

of magical energy or power. It may absorb negativity or malicious energy and neutralises it. It’s considered to help clear the body of impurities and is a great grounding stone.